Life

Life is the fourth album, integrating thick bass, springing rhythm and Jeff Scott Soto's powerful singing. In 1995, Marcel Jacob and Soto wrote the songs in Los Angeles, and because everyone was busy, each part was recorded separately; the story goes that the first time the band was in the same room was at the mixing stage. That the record has a unity which betrays none of this is the strength of this lineup. It's also the last '90s album with Fredrik Åkesson on guitar, after which the band entered a three-year silence. Jamie Borger's drumming is steady too. Jacob's bass isn't merely a foundation — it's the songs' drive itself. Funk's suppleness and hard rock's push are both there, and the choruses have real lift. The opener “Tears in the Sky,” “Crazy” and “Body” became long-running live staples, and through the shadow of “Temptation,” the soul feel of “Soul 2 Soul” and the force of “A Life” to the closing “So Long,” the density never drops. A satisfying record where the players' personalities mesh naturally — the band's strengths well displayed.